Lake conference individual predictions
1. Nick Gilles. Should contend for a second spot behind Breker at state if healthy
2. Hamza Mohamed. Low stick on the team that is now the favorite to win state. Should challenge for a top 10 spot at state his final year of hs XC
3. Suhayb Ali. 9:32 at the Hopkins Hoka 2 mile
4. Max Westerlund. 9:44 in the Hoka 2 mile. At Griak he has shown that he has an outside shot to get top 15 at state in his last state race.
5. Daniel McCollor. At STMA he was able to make a gap between him and Hamza a bit smaller.
6. Will Weber. Closed the gap on McCollor at STMA, and also not far behind Westerlund at Griak.
7. Landon Hering. 2-mile time at Hoka was not his best. Looking to bounce back after a solid race at Willmar
8. Tyler Kissell. Broke out at the STMA invite and showed that he can keep up with teammate Weber.
9. Hayes MacMillan. Did not run at STMA, but should be able to stick with his nonsenior teammates like at Griak
10. Jace Haerter. This Edina sophomore phenom is looking to bounce back after not doing as well at Alexandria as at Griak and other races. Looking to split up the Hopkins trio (which he did at Griak) after finding out that Edina’s co-#1 guy Defor isn’t racing here.
11. Sean Fries. With his brother not racing, he is looking to do very well at conference. Constant scorer for the team. Was able to close the gap on his brother earlier this season.
12. Logan Drevlow. This 8th grader has shown that he can keep up with his teammate Hering.
13. Andrew MacHeel. This guy has been on varsity for Buffalo since 9th grade. Now that he is a senior, he should be able to snag the last all-conference spot in his final conference meet. He also beat Drevlow earlier this season.
14. Jackson Downin. Great race at Hoka. Sub-10. With the older Fries not racing, he should be able to step up for the team and make up for his absence.
15. Nolan Bakken. Finished as Eden Prairie’s #1 man last meet. Doesn’t seem like he is guaranteed to stay as their #1 for the rest of the season.
Watchlist - James Thomas (Minnetonka), Parker Dietrick (Wayzata), Tyler Vos (Minnetonka), Wesley Wistrom (Buffalo), Will Ross (Eden Prairie)